An introduction to the history of major league baseball

Thank you for reading LawInSport. In order to keep our content peer-reviewed and free from conflicts of interest we need your support. Therefore we ask you to support us by becoming a member. While there were some big names traded Giancarlo Stanton 1Andrew McCutchen 2and Marcell Ozuna 3 and a big international signing Shohei Ohtani 4the dearth of big free agent signings, all with talk of potential collusion 5 by the owners, turned out to be the biggest story of the winter. While the free agent market was slow this offseason, there was a notable increase 6 in salary arbitrations going to hearing.

In fact, given the ever-changing economics of baseball, salary arbitration may indeed become the favored way for players to cash in on their talents early in their careers. All the more so if large free agent contracts for veteran players continue to fall out of favor with Major League owners.

World Series results

Generally, players signed one-year contracts that were renewed each year at a salary determined by the club owner. While the player could attempt to negotiate with ownership for a higher salary in the next contract, if they wanted to play Major League Baseball, they had to sign for what the club offered.

Both with the media and to the public, Bonds, whether justly or unjustly, was considered by many to be unwelcoming to fans, arrogant and egotistical, and many decried him as a poor teammate;

The case was eventually settled out of court after a Federal Appeals court sided with Danny Gardella in 1949;

With the next ten years, every ballclub in the nation would have lights with the exception of the Chicago Cubs, who wouldn't install lights in Wrigley Field until 1988;

The owners spend well over a billion dollars on player salaries alone, and make far, far more than that in revenue;

DiMaggio then hit safely in the next 55 games;

Reaping the Crops from the Farm:

The newly formed Major League Baseball Players Association 11 MLBPA set its sights on gaining freedom of movement for the players, increasing player salaries, and generally improving the conditions of employment for all players. After a number of highly contested legal cases 12players gained the right to negotiate higher salaries through free agency after six years of Major League service.

Just as important, in 1973 13 players gained the right to salary arbitration. While the eligibility threshold has varied 14 in the intervening years, the current system where players become eligible for arbitration after three to six years of service and in some cases, those with just two years of service closely resembles the original iteration.

Once a player became a free agent, then the likelihood of a huge payday for the player became a real possibility. However, the number of cases going to hearing has increased dramatically over the past five years 17especially so in the 2017-2018 offseason.

Baseball Origins, Growth and Changes in the Game

After MLB and the MLBPA negotiated and signed the most recent CBA in 2016 18the question began to be asked as to whether the owners, collectively, are using its provisions to make a concerted effort to reduce overall player wages.

The most recent offseason set an all-time low for the number of large free agent signings 19which could indicate that owners no longer desire to spend millions of dollars on long-term contracts for veteran players.

The practical effect of this is that if players can no longer count on a potentially large long-term contract after six full seasons of Major League service, they will likely turn to the arbitration process and aggressively use it to seek higher salaries in seasons three through six. If this is to be the case, it is vital to have an understanding of how the arbitration process works. It details everything from player eligibility and the responsibilities of both the players and clubs, to the hearing process itself and the timetable for decisions.

The salary arbitration process

Eligibility for arbitration Section E 1 of the CBA 21 sets out the parameters of player eligibility for the salary arbitration process. This ensures that the club will have an extra year of control over a player before potential free agency, and coincidentally costs the club less money over the next three years. The most recent blatant example of this manipulation is Nick Senzel of the Cincinnati Reds 23.

Submission of demands and selection of arbitrators MLB and the Players Association exchange salary offers from all clubs and the demands of arbitration-eligible players on or about the second week of January as set forth in Section E 2 of the CBA 24. The parties can withdraw from arbitration at any time prior to hearing if the parties agree upon a salary.

When the players and clubs exchange salary numbers, each side provides one single salary figure 25 for the upcoming season. Sometimes the amounts differ greatly.

The newly formed Major League Baseball Players Association 11 MLBPA set its sights on gaining freedom of movement for the players, increasing player salaries, and generally improving the conditions of employment for all players;

Unfortunately, a good portion of that mail was not in support of the great ballplayer;

During the decade preceding his study, the three New York teams consistently performed better than their rivals;

Willie Mays, who broke in with the Giants in 1951, would go on to hit.

Sometimes they are quite close. An example of this from the most recent off-season: Some clubs treat the deadline for submission of the salary figures as a hard deadline for the negotiation of one-year contracts. The tactic is not always successful for the team, and indeed can unnecessarily anger a player willing to further negotiate in good faith prior to a hearing. The hearing process The arbitration hearings are conducted on a private and confidential basis, with each party limited to one hour for initial presentation and one-half hour for rebuttal and summation.

The parties exchange any written materials to be utilized at the outset of a hearing. The arbitration panel assigns such weight to the evidence as appears appropriate under the circumstances. Though neither party carries the burden of proof for the hearing, the player always presents first 29.

The criteria 30 to be utilized by the arbitration panel consists of the following: In some arbitration cases, these negative statements by the club cause a great deal of harm 31 to the long-term relationship with the player.

Clearly, this is an unintended byproduct of the arbitration process. Baseball, more than any other sport, is driven by its statistics.

The last dozen years have seen a veritable explosion of statistical categories. Where players used to be judged primarily on statistics such as their batting average, hits, runs batted in; or, in the case of pitchers, their wins, strikeouts, and earned run average, players and clubs now use a myriad of advanced statistics 32 to gauge player value. In the arbitration process only publicly available statistics are admissible 33. This includes data available through subscription-only websites of which there are many.

Statistics and data generated through the use of performance technology or wearable technology 34 i. Though the evidence to be utilized by the Player and Club during the hearing is quite broad, there are a number of topics that are not admissible 35 at hearing: The financial position of the Player and the Club; Press comments, testimonials or similar material bearing on the performance of either the Player or the Club, except that recognized annual Player awards for playing excellence shall not be excluded; Offers made by either Player or Club prior to arbitration; The cost to the parties of their representatives, attorneys, etc.

The arbitration panel may render the decision on the day of the hearing, and make every effort to do an introduction to the history of major league baseball not later than 24 hours following the close of the hearing. There is no middle ground.

Further, the arbitrators do not issue an opinion 38. The figure is eventually released to the public by either the player or the club, generally by the side that prevailed. In fact, 2018 has seen the first decline in overall player wages 41 in ten years, driven primarily by fewer large free agent contracts. Many players 42 and union officials 43 believe this decline is by design, and they are not pleased 44. The next CBA negotiations will not take place for approximately three years, so there is little the players can do to change the current system.

Therefore, it is a very likely that salary arbitration will continue to play a prominent role in the years to come, and remains the most immediate and viable option for players to fight against the increasing revenue imbalance.